American Expat Counseling in the Netherlands
To my fellow Americans building a new life here, this is as much a hello as it is an offering. If you've arrived at this page wondering whether you'll ever feel at home again, I understand the feeling, because I had to start from scratch too. Let’s work to find your footing, together.
What we bring with us, and what we leave behind
Most of what gets written about moving abroad focuses on the logistics: the visa, the apartment hunt, the job search. All problems that can be solved with enough time, money, and effort. Like the suitcases and boxes we pack for our move, we can control what we leave and what we bring. But for those of us who have arrived here, boxes checked and intact, we often find that we have both left and brought things we never intended.
For a lot of us, this move wasn't just a career decision or a lifestyle upgrade. It was a departure, and one of the biggest sacrifices we have ever made. Maybe we left because something in the US stopped making sense to us. Maybe we left toward something, a partner, a slower pace, a version of stability that felt out of reach at home. Usually it's both at once, and this mixture of feelings doesn't resolve just because we've settled our housing contracts.
If any of this sounds familiar, you’re not alone
Bureaucratic exhaustion, where every step requires a document you don't have yet
Feeling conflicted about missing a country you were relieved to leave
A low hum of loneliness that's hard to name because everything is, technically, going fine
Frustration that comes from a million little bits of everyday friction, from reading labels in grocery stores, to being unable to get any ice in your drink
Watching your closest relationships change now that they stretch across time zones
The strange flatness that can follow a big, values-driven decision, once the adrenaline and newness wears off
This isn’t something you need to push through alone
The anxiety, depression or heartache you may be experiencing does not mean your move was a mistake, and none of it means something is wrong with you. You are in the process of recasting your own life, using new tools, in a new context, and it's hard; maybe harder than anything you've done before.
What tends to help isn't rushing to feel settled. It's having somewhere to actually think out loud about what this move is both costing and giving you, without needing to perform gratitude or resolve to anyone, including yourself.
The path forward
Our sessions are conducted remotely, in English, with me, Andrew Wright. I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor (Illinois) and National Certified Counselor who understands American culture and the emotional weight of what you're experiencing right now.
Together, we'll unpack the specifics of your journey: why you left, what you left behind, and what's still unresolved as you build this next chapter. We'll look closely at what's actually showing up for you, whether that's anxiety, disconnection, grief, or something harder to name, and work to understand what's driving it, not just how to manage it.
We’ll draw on an existential, reflective approach that centers your history, experience, and strengths, to find relief and a clearer vision of what it looks like to live this new life on your own terms.
A free 30-minute consultation lets us see if this is a fit before you commit to anything.
Do you have questions that weren’t answered here? If so, feel free to visit the FAQ page.